We encountered lousy weather coming and going. It was lousy enough to dedicate a paragraph or two to our experience with the Port of Galveston. Flying from BOS (Boston) 24 hours late due to snow cancellations in Beantown, we flew into HOU (Hobby) just in time for an Ice Storm. Bush International to the north was closed because of the ice but somehow we managed to squeak into Houston. Our car service www.republiclimousine.com (Frank) was waiting for us upon arrival (despite the weather) and quickly scooped us up and brought us to our Galveston Beachfront hotel. I can’t say enough good things about Republic Limousine, we were treated to quick and safe transport to our hotel and they did an amazing job getting us back to the airport at the end; more on our return later. Two other couples who drove through white knuckle blizzard conditions from Minnesota, met us there, amazed that we made it. Clearly with ice storms we were NOT in the Sunshine State so it was quite cold and winter jacket worthy. The weather improved by Sunday, Embarkation day.

Pre-Cruise Lodging; We stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacation’s Galveston Beach Resort. We stayed in a fully equipped condo featuring a full Kitchen. The Bathroom with a large walk in shower and massive Jacuzzi style soaking tub was a real luxury. The service was impeccable with over the top hospitality and an immaculate room steps off the beach. Beautiful grounds with a really cool infinity pool and steaming hot tub – I wish the weather was warmer so we could have enjoyed the property more. Hungry on arrival, we ordered pizza from the local Pizza Hut only to be called 20 minutes later to be told they don’t deliver to our location. Apparently the staff at Pizza Hut as little geographical clue about their own island, hello? Don’t you people live here? Frustrated we found a place called “The Jungle” and about a half hour later, two of the most delicious burgers were delivered to our door. You should definitely check out www.thejungle.co/west DW and I highly recommend the Jungle Burger. We also had Saturday available to explore. We had lots of fun in the old town area known as “The Strand” featuring old fashioned gaslights on the streets and lots of cool little shops to explore. We took the ferry across Galveston Bay (it’s free) and saw Dolphin scampering around in the water. We found the people of Galveston to be extremely warm and open. Definitely worth considering a return trip in warmer weather, you’ll love the laid back beach bum vibe.

The trip to Pier 23 and Embarkation went so quick, I didn’t have time to check my watch. Curbside, our checked luggage got tags installed and whisked away to be delivered to our State Room later. Next stop was Security to have carryon luggage x-rayed and a quick step through a metal detector. Nobody batted an eye at the 2 bottles of Champaign in my back pack. Next stop, up one long escalator (elevator was available) to the last step in the check in process, cruise cards. After a 10 min. wait in line we checked in and were advised rooms would be ready around 1:30. Off to the Gangway where we paused for the usual photo op with the Carnival Photographers. Where the Gangway ends, the Magic begins. A quick zig zag deposited up inside the Magic Atrium. A massive space that stretched from the belly of the ship on deck 3 all the way up to the water slides on deck 12. Very similar to last year’s Carnival Dream, we felt at home right away. We were onboard before noon. We did our usual Embarkation Day Sneak and deposited our bags in our room. We were stopped on the way by a Crewmember who said rooms on deck 6 were not ready. I mumbled something about Faster to the Fun (we were not) and dragged my luggage right past the crewmember and down the Starboard side to my room. The door was open but the room was not quite ready. We dropped the carry-on luggage inside the closet and dashed off to the buffet for lunch. Read more